Electron trigger tube



Sept. 28, 1954 J. B. SPONSLER ELECTRON TRIGGER TIUBE Filed Dec. 31, 1951 INVENTOR JOHN B. SPONSLER AGENT Patented Sept. 28, 1954 ELECTRON TRIGGER TUBE John E. Sponsler, Huntington, N. Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 31, 1951, Serial No. 264,312

2 Claims. (Cl. 315--35) This invention relates to vacuum tubes having more than one complete set of elements within a single envelope. In particular this invention relates to a dual triode type of vacuum tube wherein certain additional elements have been placed whereby the single envelope becomes a self contained trigger device equivalent to the well known Eccles-Jordan trigger conventionally used for switching circuits, storage circuits, electronic counters and the like.

The chief object of this invention therefore is to provide a simple circuit component contained within a single sealed envelope, the circuit component including all the necessary electrical and electronic elements comprising a trigger circuit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a self contained trigger circuit within a conventionally sized vacuum tube envelope whereby interchangeability of trigger components is easily accomplished in a multiple trigger component circuit.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive electronic trigger utilizing some of the normal component elements of a vacuum in dual utility.

Other objects of the invention are apparent from the specification which follows and from the accompanying drawings, which comprise:

Fig. 1, showing an elevation view of the trigger tube with the shell cut away to reveal some of the internal connections;

Fig. 2, showing a sectional view along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, which is a top view of the tube of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, showing a sectional View of the tube of Fig. 1 along the line 44; and

Fig. 5, which is a circuit equivalent of the trigger tube.

With reference to Fig. l, a conventional octal type base I is provided with a glass envelope or shell I I containing the mica supporting washers I2 and I3 between which the tube elements are sup-ported. In the view of Fig. 1 a center support rod I4 is provided to space the washers I2 and I3. On each side of the rod I4, spaced radially from it, are the anode supports I5 and I5 (see also Figs. 2, 3, and 4). Clamped about each anode support is an anode member, the anode member PI being fixed to support I5 and the anode member P2 being fixed to support I6. Anode member PI is also supported in the washer I2 by a tab TI and in the washer I3 by tabs T3, the anode member P2 being similarly supported by a tab T2 in washer I2 and by tabs T4 in washer I3. Within the enclosure formed by PI are located grid supports I1 and I8 upon which the grid GI (not shown) is supported. Similar grid supports I9 and 20 are located within the enclosure of P2 for supporting the grid G2 (not shown). Within each anode member enclosure are a cathode sleeve 2| surrounding a heater 22 (see Fig. 2). The cathode sleeves and heaters are of conventional design and need be described in no more detail.

In the description above there has been described a type of twin triode electron discharge device. The present invention, however, contemplates other elements not found in the conventional construction of such devices.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2, partially surrounding each anode member is a shield member, shield member 23 surrounding anode member PI and shield member 24 surrounding anode member P2. Each shield member bears a predetermined capacitative relationship with the anode member with which it is associated, thereby forming a capacitor of which one plate is the shield member and the other plate is the anode member, there being a vacuum or gaseous dielectric space therebetween.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the shield members are each supported by a rod projecting through the washer I2 and the washer I3, the shield 23 being supported by the rod 25 and the shield 24 by the rod 26. The rod 25 is bent over (see Fig. 1) and welded to the grid support I!) and the rod 26 is bent over and welded to the grid support H. on the bottom of the washer I2 (see Fig. 4) an arc of conductive material BI is deposited to contact both the tab TI and the projection of the rod 25. A similar arc of conductive material R2 is deposited on the bottom of washer I2 to contact both the tab T2 and the projection of the rod 26. As a result of the above arrangements the anode member PI is coupled capacitatively and through the resistance path of the deposited material RI to the grid G2 (see Fig. 5) of the triode of which P2 is the anode member, and the anode member P2 is coupled capacitatively and through the resistance path of the deposited material R2 to the grid GI (see Fig. 5) of the triode of which PI is the anode member. Consequently the arrangement of the additional elements of the novel tube herein described in eifeot provide a self contained trigger circuit within the envelope or shell I I. A comparison of the above described arrangement with the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 5, which is a standard Eccles-Jordan trigger circuit, bears this out. In Fig. the trigger composed of the triodes VI and V2 provides capacitative coupling between the grid 5 of V2 (or G2) and the anode 3 of VI (or Pl there being also a resistance coupling by the way of RI. Similarly capacitative coupling is provided between the grid 4 of VI (or G1) and the anode 6 of V2 (or P2), there being also a resistance coupling by the way of R2.

The unique tube described above has many advantages both technically and economically including the absence of soldered connections (all welded construction), self contained trigger components being sealed within an envelope providing shorter connections and freedom from corrosion, the anode member of each triode is utilized both as an anode and as one plate of a capacitor, the trigger unit is adapted to be changed in a manner similar to replacing a vacuum tube in a tube socket, and increased operational stability is obtained due to the compactness of the trigger circuit so provided.

While the specification by Way of illustration has described a preferred embodiment as reflected in the drawings, the scope of the invention is in no way intended to be limited thereby except as set forth in the accompanying claims, which follow.

I claim:

1. An electronic tube comprising within a single envelope a pair of electron discharge devices, each said device having at least a control grid element and an anode element, a capacitor between the anode element of each of the pair and the grid element of the other of the pair, nonconductive supports commonly supporting all the said elements within the said tube, and a resistor between the anode element of each one of the pair and the grid element of the other of the pair, said resistors being deposited upon the said non-conductive supports.

2. An electronic tube comprising within a single envelope a pair of electron discharge devices, each said device having at least a control grid element and an anode element, a non-conductive support common to all the said elements within the said tube, a resistor between the anode element of each of the pair and the grid element of the other of the pair, said resistor being deposited upon the said support, and a capacitor between the anode element of each of the pair and the grid element of the other of the pair, the said capacitor partially including one of the said anode elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,789,186 Mavrogenis Jan. 13, 1931 1,930,499 Zworkin Oct. 1'7, 1933 2,153,131 Bohme Apr. 4, 1939 2,554,308 Miller May 22, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 122,453 Australia Oct. 10, 1946 

